UPS Issues official response regarding it’s bike lane policy in NYC

— Tags: , , — cyclosity / Liam Quigley @ 4:10 AM

Update June 11th 2009 – A customer service rep named Jerry Ross has given some helpful information for cyclists in NYC reporting UPS drivers illegally blocking NYC bike lanes. Read more here.

From thomasatups (a UPS rep who handles all twitter communication for the company) :

Basically, we do our best to be as expeditious as possible when making deliveries in NYC. However … if you encounter a driver parked in a bike lane for an extended period of time , please send us his/her vehicle number. With your help, we will talk with individual drivers who are parking in NYC bike lanes for an inappropriate amount of time.

UPS has finally released an official statement on it’s repeated violations of NYC traffic code that put cyclists in harms way every day. This response leaves questions unanswered, and fails to acknowledge how irresponsible it is to leave 20 ton truck parked in bike only lanes at all. How long is too long to leave a massive truck blocking a bike lane?

full_12982

Parked here for over half an hour, with plenty of parking space avail. the whole time

Most NYC cyclists who have to deal with these trucks would probably say anything longer than a minute is dangerous and excessive, so call away! Don’t forgot to continue logging UPS violations at http://www.nyc.mybikelane.com Shame on UPS for deciding that it’s OK to block a bike lane and force cyclists into traffic, even for 5 or 10 minutes at a time.

Hey, @thomasatups :

If I have to go around it, it’s been parked too long.-commenter

Bookmark and Share
  • Interesting approach but not an option for small / big businesses - they do pay LESS for tickets, but I have spoken to some drivers from other new york companies who told me that they have to pay 50 percent of parking tickets out of pocket if they were in a no-standing zone...
  • curren3
    UPS doesn't pay tickets since they have a deal with the city to pay 3% (or something like that) of their ticket total per year. So, I don't think its the tickets that will motivate them. More the PR and protesting--boycott use of UPS and Fedex. It is possible, use the USPS overnight services.
  • It is important to remember that in many incidents, it is a simple matter of parking around the corner or just taking available spots to avoid tickets and unsafe situations.
  • curren3
    I understand drivers have a job to do and that delivering in NYC must be hard. But, UPS condoning this behavior is inconsiderate to the drivers. Being the cause of and/or witnessing a serious injury or death is not fair for drivers. If UPS lets any drivers do this, others must as well or risk underperforming.

    Drivers have the right not to be expected to break laws and endanger lives in order to do their job and get a pay check. Drivers should not be punished for not making deliveries on time etc. because they follow laws. UPS, a giant and powerful company, can approach the problem in a legal, safe and respectful way. They can work with city officials, traffic design experts etc.

    Obviously, UPS can afford the tickets and can either implicitly or explicitly ask/expect drivers to break the law. But, this is not fair to drivers, cyclists, cars (now bikes are swerving into traffic lanes) or anyone else using or near roads.
  • this is a misconception that seems to vary driver by driver. some drivers always park outside bike lanes, allowing safe passage for cyclists (however slowing down vehicular traffic momentarily)

    just today i saw a fedex driver parking safely and legally outside the bike lane, while a ups driver carelessly angled in blocking a bike lane.
  • DNP
    besides, why doesn't UPS use bicycles to deliver in crowded urban areas?
  • DNP
    Why don't they block motor-vehicle traffic lanes since they are driving motor vehicles? According to NYS DOT, legal double parking does not block the bicycle lane.
  • jon
    there was plenty of room there to park, its obvious
  • I don't care what kind of obstacle course the deliver guy has to go through in the building because theres no way it involves a 20 ton truck he has to go around at 15mph with cars passing on his right beeping at him at 30+ miles per hour. Thats what myself and my brother and other bike commuters have to deal with when we encounter vehicles parked like this.

    Are you a cyclists who commutes in bike lanes everyday in Manhattan?

    I understand your concern, but I think you also don't understand the gravity of how much more than a simple inconvenience this can be, especially when the violation as is blatant and careless as the one pictured above.

    If we all took such a lax attitude about these complaints in the meantime, bike lanes would be more blocked than they are now. Less people would commute (believe me, I've spoken to many who only commute because they have bike lanes they feel safer in) and our situation would be a lot worse.
  • cms5
    It's really just a matter of principle. Would the UPS truck park in a narrow street, blocking off car traffic?

    For many cyclists, this is exactly what the bicycle lane is - the one piece of the road which is specifically for them. Bicycle lanes which are routinely blocked by delivery trucks and cars will undoubtedly lead to some potential cyclists choosing another transportation method, which weakens the entire urban cycling committee.
  • From a bike-saddle perspective a UPS truck blocking a bike lane might as well be 20 tons. But in reality the big brown vehicles don't top out at 40,000 pounds... more like couple tons, max.
  • k.geis
    Why should UPS obey the law if they won't be ticketed for it?

    The streets need to be redesigned so that commercial delivery vehicles have their own parking spots, which passenger cars cannot use, with meters.

    There's no place for UPS and FedEx to go, now, and they perform vital services. That's why the city has the fleet program, whereby they throw out all traffic tickets these guys get.
  • h23
    Whether its been parked for 1 minute or 15, it takes the same amount of time to go around it-- who knows what kind obstacle course the delivery guy has to go through in the building to make the delivery. I just don't see what the big deal is, god forbid one might have to adapt and go around the truck by riding in the road with cars. Trucks double park all the time to make deliveries with or without bike lanes. The picture given sure looks unreasonable, but the reality is that it is often impossible to find a place to make a delivery that doesn't piss someone off.

    As a cyclist, I think its important to choose our battles. I'm concerned that getting too persnickety about bike lane abuse will continue to build up the attitude that all bikes must be on bike lanes at all times. That just isn't practical or desirable.
  • Traff
    If I have to go around it, it's been parked too long.
  • Park across the street? Park around the corner? Plenty of UPS drivers make the effort everyday. Others, like the one on in the photo above, do not.
  • h23
    Ok, but how can UPS make deliveries then? I mean, what would _you_ do if you were a UPS driver? I think that's a fair question.
blog comments powered by Disqus